Woodturning Tips & Tricks

Darryl Stephison

Bottle Stoppers

• Drill bottle stopper blanks on the lathe rather than the drill press

• True up the face of the blank so it is perfectly flat and perpendicular to the hole

Bottle Stoppers

• Drill the pilot hole (5/16 in.) then put thin CA glue in the hole, shake out the excess, and allow to harden before tapping (3/8x16)

Bottle Stoppers

• Apply wax to a bottle stopper screw chuck (mandrel) to make the piece easier to remove when done

Bowl Blanks

• Make round templates for rough cutting bowl blanks

Bowl Turning

• Make a pilot hole in the center of a bowl to gage the depth inside

• Use a small piece of vinyl tubing on the drill to mark the depth desired

Chuck Jaw Gages

• Make inside and outside gages for chuck jaws

• Counter top laminate material works well

Clean Air

• A box fan with a 20 inch pleated filter taped on will help to reduce airborne dust in your shop

Color Coding

• Color code hex recess screws and Allen wrenches to quickly match sizes

Color Coding

• Color code tool handles for quick spotting

Cutting Technique

• Whenever possible use a shearing cut in preference to a scraping cut

Cutting Technique (continued)

Scraping cuts leave a rougher surface and thus require more sanding

Lathe Speeds

• Higher speeds make turning easier and better quality

• Be careful however – if the speed is too high, it can be dangerous

• Never exceed 7000 / Diameter (inches)

• Use 3000 / Diameter for out-of-round or out-of-balance pieces

Magnets

• Use a magnet to find a screw or small tool in a pile of shavings

Magnets

• Use a magnet to keep small tools (like a steel ruler) handy

Magnets

• Use two or three magnets in the corner of the Wolverine vee arm to make a secondary bevel on gouges

Magnets

• Small magnetized bowls from Harbor Freight are great for keeping screws when changing chuck jaws, face plates, etc.

Mineral Spirits

• Use mineral spirits (painter’s thinner) to reveal sanding scratches before finishing

Sandpaper

• Use clean new sandpaper for each new sanding job

• Woodturner’s joke “Use sandpaper like a three year old uses toilet paper”

Sandpaper Grits

• Don’t skip sandpaper grit • Start with 60

• Multiply by 1.5 for each next grit

• Follow with 100, then 150, then 220

• Apply sanding sealer

• Repeat 220 then 320, 500, 800, 1200, 2000

• When you can’t see or feel the difference between grits, then quit

ScotchBrite Pads

• Use WD-40 and a ScotchBrite pad to clean tools, bed ways, tool rests, etc. and prevent rust

Sharpening

• Sharpen your tools before you put them away – then it is easier to tell which ones need sharpening

Sharpening

• Mark the bevel on your tool with a black marker before touching the wheel to see where metal is being taken off while sharpening

Sharpening

• Hone the inside of the flute as well as the outside to make a really sharp gouge

• There is no such thing as “too sharp”!

Small Turnings

• A Jacobs chuck can be mounted on the drive spindle to hold very small pieces for turning

Superglue

• Avoid stuck fingers by applying paste wax to fingers before using CA glue (Superglue)

Superglue

• Use thin coffee stir straws to apply small amounts of CA glue

Tape

• Use duct tape to cover shirt pockets to prevent collecting wood chips

• Woodturner’s joke – You know if you’re a woodturner if there’s more wood chips than lint in the dryer filter

Tape

• Use nylon reinforced strapping tape to prevent bowl from flying out of jumbo jaws

Vinyl Tubing

• Use vinyl tubing to protect tools (and fingers)

Waste Blocks

• Use a hole saw to make waste blocks quickly and easily

Waste Blocks • Drill a 1/4” hole in the

center of waste block

• Apply glue to waste block and bottom of bowl

• Insert a dowel with a pointed end

• Put the point into the center punch hole in your bowl

• Slide the waste block down the dowel for perfectly centered waste block

Wood Chips

• A plastic bag filled with wood chips makes a great pad for holding your piece while doing hand work

Wood Flaws

• Use cork to fill a knot hole in a bowl

• Mix sawdust or ground coffee beans with epoxy to fill voids

• Try using Epoxy with a colored dye to show the voids rather than hide them

Wood Flaws

• Use Inlace nuggets to turn flaws into features

Work Light

• A $10 work light from IKEA attached to a magnet can be moved around to illuminate various parts of your bowl while turning

Wood Glue

• If you want your wood glue to dry harder, add 5% household corn starch

• Caution – Don’t do this for segmented turning – the segments need some flexibility in the glue to avoid cracking as the wood moves

• Avoid glue slippage by adding a pinch of fine sand or salt

Miscellaneous

• Lubricate screws with wax to make them easier to get in and out

• Rubbing wax or an oily rag on the rails will make the banjo slide easier (this also prevents rust when turning wet wood)